Solid Electrolyte Membrane With Ultrafine Fiber Support for Low Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing all-solid-state batteries face issues with inferior output characteristics due to small contact areas between powder-based solid electrolytes, complexity in manufacturing thin film sheets, and the use of harmful organic solvents, which lead to low durability and high resistance between electrodes.
Innovation Solution
A solid electrolyte membrane incorporating ultrafine fiber non-woven fabric with polar filler resin fibers and embedded solid electrolyte particles, manufactured using laser electrospinning, which enhances contact area and reduces film thickness, improving battery performance and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If powder-based solid electrolyte is used, then the battery structure is simple to manufacture, but the contact area between electrodes is small leading to inferior output characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a porous polyimide support with through-holes that allows solid electrolyte to be filled and form a continuous network. This porous structure dramatically increases the contact area between the solid electrolyte and electrodes compared to dense powder structures, thereby improving output characteristics while maintaining manufacturability through the filling process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure combining polyimide support material with solid electrolyte material (such as Li2SiO3, Li3PO4, or Li2SiO2). This composite approach allows the support to provide mechanical strength while the embedded solid electrolyte provides ionic conduction pathways, achieving both structural integrity and high output characteristics.
2Productivity
If solid electrolyte is filled in through holes of support, then the manufacturing process becomes continuous and productive, but the film thickness increases leading to high resistance between electrodes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a support with through-holes that creates localized regions for solid electrolyte placement. The solid electrolyte is concentrated in these specific through-hole regions rather than being uniformly distributed, which reduces the overall film thickness while maintaining continuous manufacturing capability. The thickness can be controlled by adjusting the through-hole dimensions and filling degree.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional solid electrolyte sheet is used, then the manufacturing process is established, but harmful organic solvents are used leading to safety and environmental issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the harmful organic solvent component from the manufacturing process. Instead of using solvent-based slurry methods, the invention employs a dry filling process where solid electrolyte powder is directly filled into the through-holes of the polyimide support, followed by pressing. This removes the harmful solvent step while maintaining an established manufacturing workflow.
4Ease of operation
If powder material is used for solid electrolyte, then the material is easy to handle, but it is difficult to form thin film sheets composed of single material layer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a polyimide support with through-holes as an intermediary structure that facilitates the formation of thin solid electrolyte films. The support acts as a template that guides the solid electrolyte into a controlled thin-film configuration. This intermediary structure enables precise control over film thickness and uniformity while maintaining the ease of handling powder materials during the filling process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution improves the output characteristics and durability of all-solid-state batteries by increasing the contact area between electrodes and reducing resistance, while eliminating the use of harmful solvents, resulting in a more efficient and safer battery.
Implementation Method 1
a step of forming a non-woven fabric by laser electrospinning; a step of melting the resin by irradiating a laser beam
Implementation Method 2
a step of pressing the non-woven fabric on which the slurry is applied; pressing the support in which the through holes are filled with the solid electrolyte
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(a)~2(c)
Figure 3~4(c)
AI summary
A solid electrolyte membrane having favorable characteristics and a method of forming the same are provided. A solid electrolyte membrane 40 is composed of a non-woven fabric (ultrafine fiber non-woven fabric) UFN and solid electrolyte particles 4AP incorporated therein. Also, the non-woven fabric UFN includes a fiber (ultrafine fiber UF) made of a resin containing a polar filler. A method of manufacturing the solid electrolyte membrane 40 includes a step of preparing the non-woven fabric UFN including a fiber made of a resin containing a polar filler, a step of applying a slurry S containing the solid electrolyte particles 4AP onto the non-woven fabric UFN, and a step of heating while pressurizing the slurry S on the non-woven fabric UFN. Further, the non-woven fabric UFN is formed by making the resin containing the polar filler be a fibrous form by a laser electrospinning method.